Impact of Modern Fuels 0n Education in India

Shruti Kapoor, World Bank Group
Douglas Barnes, World Bank Group
Veena S. Kulkarni, Arkansas State University

This paper considers the extent to which the family context is influenced by the use of modern fuels for lighting and cooking in India, and how this in turn has an impact on the school performance of children, and in particular girls. Not only do the children have no time for reading, school work is often dependent on daylight hours as the commonly used kerosene lamps provide very poor quality lighting. Thus the opportunity cost of poor access to domestic energy not only has profound effects on women but also on the education of children. This paper analyzes the impact of using modern fuels (like electricity and LPG) on the primary education of children in both rural and urban areas